A Cup Of Tea
by casualtyfics24
Summary: Cal has just recovered from a bad bout of the flu, only for Ethan to come down with it straight afterwards. Plotless, but hopefully quite cute. Poorly Ethan and Caring Cal.
1. Chapter 1

Prompt: Cal is suffering from a bad bout of the flu, Ethan is helping to take care of him, but manages to come down with it himself when Cal has recovered. Poorly Ethan, Caring Cal.

"Eth? Is that you?" Cal called, his voice croaking slightly.

"No, I'm an armed robber and I've come to steal the TV." Ethan called from the hallway, shrugging off his jacket and dumping his bag at the door, walking into the living room. An ill Caleb lay on the sofa, curled up in a blanket, a small smile on his face.

"Please don't, I've got another series of _Friends_ to catch up on..." He said, sniffling and shuffling to sit up.

"How have you been today?" Ethan asked, sitting next to his brother, blinking as he felt himself become slightly dizzy.

"Better..." Cal said, blowing his nose. "I've not had to take any paracetamol since this morning, I've had plenty to drink, I've been taking my temperature and it's stayed pretty low, considering I've got flu..."

Ethan smiled, feeling his forehead and neck, nodding as he felt the difference in temperature compared to this morning. "That's good, you should be back on your feet tomorrow, maybe."

"Hopefully. Though I must admit, I'll miss lounging around all day, you waiting on me hand and foot..." Cal said with a faux wistful grin.

"Well, I certainly shall not, you're a very whiny, demanding patient..." Ethan chuckled, suddenly breaking into a short, chesty coughing fit.

Cal frowned, sitting up more. "You okay, Eth?"

Ethan sniffled, nodding. "Yes, I'm fine..." He said. Cal though otherwise as he saw his younger brother's pale, pinched face. His eyes had large dark circles underneath them, a faint red flush glowing on his cheeks, and he could tell by his expression that he was trying desperately to hold back an oncoming sneeze.

Cal quickly handed his the tissue box, just in time for Ethan to grab one and sneeze thrice. He groaned quietly as he head spun, leaning forward and resting it in his hands, closing his eyes.

"Nibbles?" Cal asked, sitting closer to his brother and rubbing his back.

"I'm fine, I promise..." Ethan said, sounding congested.

"Don't be daft, Ethan, I'm a doctor, and you're sick..." Cal said, reaching for the thermometer and placing it in Ethan's ear, waiting for it to take his temperature.

"38?" Cal said, wincing. "Oh dear, you need to get to bed, Nibbles..."

"Look, Caleb, I'm okay, so what if I've got a bit of a temperature and a cough? I'll manage..." Ethan said, sitting up. Cal sighed. Ethan had never enjoyed being ill, he always convinced himself that he could just pretend he wasn't sick and carry on with everyday life, often exhausting himself to the point of passing out, and, or, crying. Cal had seen it before, and was not about to let it happen again.

"Eth, please, you're going to tire yourself out and make yourself even worse..." Cal pleaded, resting his hand on his brother's shoulder in case he tried to stand up. "Come on, at least let me make you a drink and something to eat, you look famished..."

Ethan looked to Cal in the way he'd look at them when they were little and Ethan was painfully sad; his huge brown eyes would go glossy with tears, his bottom lip trembling as he looked desperately to his older brother for reassurance that everything would be okay... He nodded meekly and sat back into the couch, holding a cushion a Cal had been resting on to his chest, sighing as Cal shuffled off to go and make the tea.

"There we go," Cal said, returning to the living room with two mugs of tea and a piece of toast for Ethan. "Milk and two sugars, and I suppose dry toast is the only real thing you can keep down with flu- Eth?"

Ethan was half-asleep, in the same position he had been when Cal had left the room, looking exhausted and even more sickly than Cal.

"Nibbles..." Cal whispered. "Why didn't you say you felt ill?" He sat next to Ethan and handed him his tea.

Ethan slowly sat up straight, brow creasing as his head spun, quietly thanking Cal for the tea. "I, um... I didn't need you to worry about me, you're ill, you need to concentrate on getting better..."

"I think it's you who needs to take a break and get better, little brother..." Cal said empathetically, gently wrapping an arm around Ethan and pulling him closer, taking his glasses off for him and stroking his hair.

Ethan sipped his tea, the hot liquid soothing his burning throat momentarily, only for the dry pain to return seconds later. He closed his eyes, relaxing into Cal's touch. Cal smiled and hummed softly, resting his chin atop of Ethan's head, still stroking his curls.

"Try and eat something, Nibbles." He said, offering his the piece of toast.

Ethan reluctantly took it, living up to his nickname by nibbling the corner. Cal chuckled softly and took a swig of his own tea.

"I didn't actually eat anything today..." Ethan confessed. "I felt too sick..."

"You should've told someone you weren't feeling well..." Cal said softly. "Charlie, or Robyn, or Lofty- heck, even Lily would've understood..."

"Connie wouldn't though..." Ethan sniffled, placing the toast down. "You've heard her, always going on about how she can't afford weak staff on her team..."

"Ignore her, she's wrong, we all need a break sometimes," Cal said, "She's far too demanding; you're ill and you can't help it, you can't go in because, as well as risking the health of your patients, you'd only worsen your condition and end up being sent home anyway..."

Ethan groaned quietly. Cal was unsure if it was because of the pain, or the idea of facing Mrs. Beauchamp when he returned to full health.

"Listen, I'm probably going back in tomorrow anyway, I'll explain to her, yeah?" Cal offered, knowing how shy and scared a Ethan could be. "She can't get angry at you. I won't let her."

A small smile graced Ethan's face. "Thank you..." He said quietly, taking another sip of his tea before placing that down too.

"Good," Cal said, rubbing his back. "Now, I think an early night is needed." He said, glancing at the clock upon the wall, which read 9:30 PM.

The process of getting Ethan to bed proved to be more difficult than Cal had wanted. Despite all of the reassurance, Ethan was still stubbornly convinced he wasn't that ill, and shook Cal's guiding hand away from his shoulder, only to grow dizzy and disorientated due to his pounding headache, causing him to stumble and sway, Cal swooping in just in time to catch him before he fell.

"Woah there," He said, holding his brother steady. "Come on, you can kip in with me if you want."

Ethan grumbled, mumbling something under his breath about how he "wasn't a child anymore", but Cal could see that the offer had relieved, partially, the worried expression that creased his younger brother's face. He slowly led him into his own room, gently sitting Ethan down on the bed.

"Here, I'll go fetch your pyjamas and toothbrush." Cal offered, dimming down the lights a little, trying to get rid of anything that would make his little brother feel any worse.

He returned to the room with some pyjama pants and a t-shirt for Ethan, as well as his toothbrush (with a blob of toothpaste already on it.) handing them over to him before turning around to look for his own night-clothes.

Ethan begrudgingly changed into his pyjamas, brushing his teeth half-heartedly, standing to shuffle off to the bathroom to rinse his mouth. Cal couldn't help but accompany him, just to make sure he was okay. Ethan spat into the sink, looking up to see Cal and glaring playfully.

"I'm a full-grown man, Caleb, not a child." He said jokingly, unable to stop himself from smiling at his brother's thoughtfulness this past evening.

"You're still my little brother, Nibbles." Cal replied, poking his nose and leading him back to bed.

Ethan crawled into his side of the bed, practically asleep already. Cal bumbled around the room, searching for supplies in his bedside table, pulling out various painkillers and decongestants, fetching Ethan a glass of water and a cold compress.

"You really don't have to do this, you know..." Ethan said, looking down at the bedsheets.

"Hey, I'm your older brother, it's my job to take care of you," Cal said, sitting at the foot of the bed and popping the pills out of their packet, handing them over to Ethan, along with his glass of water. Ethan swallowed them, sipping the water as Cal stood and walked to the other side of the bed, carefully climbing in next to Ethan and fixing the sheets around them.

"There you go, all comfy cosy," He joked, dumping a couple of necessities, such as Ethan's old inhaler, onto his nightstand. "Lay back." He told Ethan.

Slightly confused, but more than eager to get some rest, Ethan placed his water down and shuffled to lay down, head resting half on the pillow, half on Caleb's shoulder. Cal gently pressed the cold compress against Ethan's forehead, chuckling softly as he heard him squeak at the sudden temperature change, but soon relaxing into it.

"There, you'll be better in no time, Nibbles." Cal said, lightly grazing it over his cheeks as well.

It didn't take long for Ethan to fall asleep, totally knocked out by the long and tiring day he had managed to survive. Cal looked down fondly at his sleeping brother, smiling sadly, as he knew the worst was yet to come...

He couldn't stand it when Ethan was sick. His little brother wasn't the type to say how he felt if he was ill, which really scared Cal, because if Ethan didn't tell him that he felt worse than the day before, Cal had no way of knowing how serious his condition was. Call him over-protective, but since the crash, Ethan was now his number-one priority, and he cared for his sibling deeply... despite the constant bickering, he loved his brother a lot, and wasn't prepared to see him in such pain as he did when the crash happened.

"Night, Nibbles." He whispered, stroking Ethan's hair back and switching the lights off completely.

 **Woo hoo! The beginnings of what I hope will be a successful chaptered** **fic!**

 **It's kind of a bit plotless; just an excuse to waffle on about them being cute lol**

 **The title came to me as a bit of an epiphany; I'm writing about poorly Ethan, and how, for Cal taking care of him, looking after his sick** **brother is no "cup of tea" woahhhh, what a radical pun**

 **I'm yet to watch tonight's episode (16-01-16) because I'm actually sick myself; tonsillitis or some other nasty throat infection is floating around my school and I feel disgusting so I'm basically living vicariously through Ethan here haha**

 **Anyway, if you enjoyed this chapter, please do rate and review, maybe even give it a follow to see what happens next? ;)**

 **Thank you so much for all of your support, love you guys!**


	2. Chapter 2

Ethan woke with a start, his chest tight and his head fuzzy. He had just had a nightmare- an awful, awful nightmare, because it wasn't like he was already physically pained enough, he said in his head... Short pants of breath escaped from his tired lungs as he tried his best to calm down, knowing that when he was congested and panicking, as he was now, his asthma could start to flare up- and he didn't need to bother Cal anymore than he already had.

Closing his eyes and laying back, he lifted his heavy arms and stroked back his hair, taking deep breaths; 'in and out, in and out...' He thought, in a futile attempt to quell the tickly sensation that scratched at his throat, and to ignore the fact that the small amount of breathing he was managing to do, what with his windpipe on the verge of swelling shut, came with a concerning wheezing sound that wasn't only uncomfortable to experience, but rather noisy too... He was in danger of waking Cal.

Swallowing, Ethan's eyes flickered to the sleeping form of his brother: he was laying on his side, facing towards him, looking as if he had stayed up until some ridiculous hour watching over Ethan to make sure he was okay... He was touched by the thought, but felt slightly guilty to be such a burden when he was ill- Cal had a shift starting at 7:30, he needed all the rest he could get.

Groaning slightly, followed by a soft, raspy cough, Ethan looked over to Cal's bedside table, seeing the familiar blue plastic cover of his inhaler. Cal had been sneaky ('caring' or 'thoughtful' were the correct words, actually, but not that that occurred to Ethan when he realised he was now forced to wake up his brother to get to his puffer.) but by now, Ethan was getting desperate. He may be sick, but he was still a doctor, and he knew that if he didn't get to his inhaler within the next five seconds he would go into a full-on asthma attack.

Unable to hold it back anymore, Ethan sat up suddenly, cough after chesty cough resonating from his lungs as he shook Cal's shoulder, his eyes brimming with tears.

Cal woke after a particularly forcible shake of the shoulder, grumbling groggily shuffling around and looking up to Ethan, hearing the painful-sounding coughing that was ripping from his chest. Almost immediately, Cal scrambled to sit up, switching on his lamp and grabbing Ethan's inhaler, shuffling over to his younger brother and helping him to administer the medicine, soothingly rubbing his back and whispering quiet words of reassurance.

"M' sorry..." Ethan said in between staggered breaths. Cal shushed him and placed the inhaler back between his lips, giving him another dose.

"Don't be daft, Nibbles, it's fine to wake me when you need me." He said, still rubbing large circles into his back in an attempt to relieve some of the tightness in his chest.

Ethan sighed, now totally exhausted from all of the effort he had gone to in order to try and remain relatively silent. Cal placed his inhaler onto Ethan's bedside table this time, pulling him closer and allowing him to rest his head on his shoulder.

"What caused it?" Cal asked, subconsciously winding strands of Ethan's hair around his fingers.

Ethan blushed, a bit embarrassed to tell Cal that he was still having nightmares... "Oh, I don't know, probably because I'm all bunged up like this..." He said, trying to keep expressionless so Cal wouldn't be able to weasel any further information out of him.

Cal simply raised an eyebrow, nodding softly. "Okay... You sure?" He asked.

"Mm-hm."

"It wasn't anything else?"

"No."

"Because..." Cal sighed softly. "Not to sound like a creeper, but I can always hear you up at crazy hours of the night, shuffling around your room, or going to the kitchen to make tea, just anything you can do to avoid having to go back to sleep, it seems..." Cal suggested, although he knew full well why it was that Ethan stayed up so late; he had drawn that conclusion months ago.

Ethan flushed, unsure of how to respond, so he simply stayed silent.

"Eth, you can tell me if something is bothering you..." Cal said softly, still stroking his hair.

Ethan sighed and buried his head into Cal's shoulder, bracing himself. "I, um, I had a bit of a bad dream, that's all... " he mumbled, feeling his cheeks turn rosy red.

"You're still having nightmares?" Cal asked, surprised.

"I know, it's pathetic..." Ethan said quietly, tears stinging his eyes. "I just... I can't get it out of my head, Cal, it's all crystal clear as it was the day it happened..."

"No, no, no, Nibbles..." Cal said, sitting up a little bit. "It is not pathetic to still be upset, you have every right to be. It was an extremely traumatic event, physically and mentally; if I'm honest, I'm still not over it myself," he wavered slightly. "B-but, that's okay, we'll be fine, and if we're not, we'll manage it together. Yeah?" He said, squeezing Ethan's hand.

Ethan weakly squeezed his back, offering him a small smile. "Thank you..."

"No problem," Cal smiled and shuffled back down. "But you need to come to me, or someone else, when you're upset. Please, Eth, don't do this alone..."

Nodding, Ethan closed his eyes, his head still spinning from the previous events... All of the panicking and nightmares and difficulty breathing had left him extra-bunged up; his eyes were starting to get puffy underneath, his cheeks still pale, but rosy red with fever, and he cringed at the constant, dull ache that lingered all around his body. His ears, his head, his arms, his legs, his back, all of them felt sore, and painful, and heavy.

Cal smiled sadly and wrapped an arm around his brother, carefully pulling him closer. "I think I'd best take the day off tomorrow and look after you..." He said.

"No, no, I don't want to be a nuisance..." Ethan began to protest but was cut off by Cal.

"No excuses, little brother, I'm staying home and taking care of you, and you cannot stop me." Cal said, chuckling softly as he saw Ethan pull a pouty face, sighing and grumbling as he wriggled over onto his side and cuddled into Cal more.

Cal smirked, wrapping his arm around his back and running his fingers lightly against Ethan's sides, tapping them in a ripple-like motion. Ethan flinched at first, a few quiet giggles passing his lips, but he eventually relaxed into it.

"Someone's feeling affectionate, hm?" Cal teased. Ethan was too tired and sick to care, but nonetheless piped up with an apathetic grunt, still cuddled into Cal's chest as he finally found himself growing sleepy.

"There we go..." Cal said quietly, stroking Ethan's back.

"I remember..." Ethan began, cut off by sneeze. "Sorry, I remember when we were little and both ill... And mum, she would..."

"Put us both in her bed..." Cal said, smiling fondly.

"With Back To The Future on the telly..."

"And warm tea and honey..."

Ethan closed his eyes, smiling as nostalgia overtook him. Cal, happy that his brother finally looked peaceful, continued.

"And you would always sit there quietly like a good boy, but I'd whine and complain about how I felt like I was dying..." Cal recalled, smiling at Ethan's subdued laughter.

"Subsequently, you always got more attention than me..." Ethan said, sniffling.

"She still looked after you though, you were her baby." Cal teased.

"Shush..." Ethan said, smiling.

"You were, you used to be such a little mummy's boy, Nibbles; I can remember it all!" Cal said, chuckling as he saw his younger brother blush and cover his ears.

"Save it for another day, Caleb." Ethan said, still smiling as he cuddled into Cal again.

"Fine, I'll tell you tomorrow..." Cal said, smirking as he ran his fingers through Ethan's hair, holding him close as he drifted to sleep again, Cal following soon after.

 **Lots and lots of sweet brotherly cuteness in this one. Just what we all need after last nights episode, eh? (30x20) Also... It's my birthday today! I'm now 15! Woooo!**

 **Also, fun fact, I remember when I first started watching Casualty, I was always too young to stay up so late (I got sleepy lol) so I would watch it on iPlayer in bed on the following Sunday morning, and just for old times sake, that's what I did today (well, I watched it on saturday too, but why not again? haha)**

 **Please r &r and f&f, you guys are all so lovely, I love reading through all of your reviews on each new oneshot or chapter I upload, you're all such cutie pies :'3**

 **Byeeee!**


	3. Chapter 3

Cal woke to the incessant bleeping of his phone alarm. Groaning, he reached an arm back towards his bedside table and hit the "snooze" icon, rubbing his blurry eyes and sitting up stiffly.

He looked down and smiled, somewhat sadly, to see poor Ethan looking even worse than yesterday. Pressing his fingers to his pink cheeks, Cal could already tell that his fever had crept up a degree or so, the quiet hum of Ethan's shallow, chesty breathing springing to mind memories of last night's traumatic events. But, being the affection-seeking creature he was when he was ill, Ethan was still happily asleep, snuggled up to Cal's chest, his head resting just beneath Cal's chin, lightly tickling his neck whenever his brother moved. Chuckling fondly, Cal softly pushed loose strands of Ethan's blonde hair away from his face, tutting as he saw he still had his glasses on.

"What are you like, hm?" He whispered quietly, carefully removing them and wrapping an arm around him, running his thumb along his shoulder.

Ethan didn't stir. Probably because he'd had an exhausting past few days, and as soon as he was given the opportunity to sleep, he took it with great pleasure; and from what Cal could predict, the next few weren't due to be any better... At least he had Cal here to take care of him.

Cal had always been the same; he would constantly fuss and fret over Ethan when he was ill as a child- whether it was a cold, a grazed knee from playing football together, or that one time Ethan landed himself in hospital with appendicitis that had ended with Cal being more upset than Ethan, despite the fact that he was not the one laying in agony in a hospital bed. Ethan now took great pleasure in teasing Cal about how he could recall memories of him apparently " _Sobbing into mum's shoulder"_ as they waited for Ethan to come out of theatre. Cal liked to pretend he didn't known what he was going on about...

"Ah, here he is," Cal said, squeezing his brothers shoulder as he heard him begin to wake. "The elusive Dr. Hardy has awoken."

"Mm..." Ethan mumbled. He would've piped up with a sarcastic response of sorts if he wasn't busy coughing and sniffling. Cracking an eye open, he discovered that his vision was even worse than normal when he was ill.

"Oh, yeah, you probably want these back..." Cal said, reaching behind himself and clumsily fumbling about for Ethan's glasses on his bedside table. Grasping them, he brought them to his face, trying them on. "Hm, maybe I should get a pair of specs myself, y'know- so I look all 'studious' and 'brainy'. What do you think?"

"Stop trying to steal my style..." Ethan said raspily, smiling a bit and taking his glasses back, pushing them up to the bridge of his nose and blinking.

"Like I'd ever," Cal gave him a cheeky smile. "Right then, let's get you sorted out..." He got up out of bed, careful to not disturb Ethan's side so he wouldn't get cold, and went off to the kitchen.

Ethan sniffed, wriggling around a little bit to get comfortable, choosing to lay on his stomach, arms folded in front of him to cushion his cheek as he rested. Quiet, shallow breaths passed his parted lips, as he had found his nose was beginning to block. He considered sitting up to relieve the congestion, but he knew if he did so he'd become so dizzy that he would most likely pass out, so he remained stationary.

A lurking pain in his temple began to swirl around the rest of his head; not strong enough to cause him great pain, but enough to cause him discomfort. Groaning, he closed his eyes and buried his face in the pillow, praying that it would calm down. Alongside all of the other irritating minor medical conditions Ethan had dealt with since childhood, he had grown up suffering from terrible migraines (partly to do with his poor eyesight, but the rest was just bad luck), which often ended with him crying due to the excruciating pain.

Cal would always help look after him when he could feel a migraine coming on. He used to dim down the lights and dose him up on painkillers, he'd even sometimes spend the night with Ethan to make sure he slept well. Although too embarrassed to admit it, Ethan didn't mind Cal taking care of him, and he was always very gracious for his brother's help.

"I'm back." Cal had returned, balancing a tray full of various medicines and remedies on his lap as he carefully sat himself back onto the bed. Ethan felt the mattress creaking and buried his face even further into the pillow, his head spinning as Cal began to speak.

"I've got painkillers, fever reducers, cough syrups, lozenges, both inhalers, and some _Vicks_ ," Cal listed, depositing said items onto the bedside table. "I brought tissues and water and stuff like that too, and," He smiled and twisted around back onto the bed. "I thought you could do with a nice cup of tea and a sudoku book to keep that big brain of yours going." He went to hand both to Ethan, but hesitated when he saw him with his face planted in the cushion. "Nibbles?"

Ethan couldn't even bring himself to groan in response. His head was throbbing, he tried to look up but he could barely see as a sudden wave of nausea hit him, rendering him practically blind. Sitting still, he hoped that Cal would be able to guess what was wrong.

"What is it?" Cal asked, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. Ethan flinched slightly, and very slowly, managed to bring his hand up to his face to tap the side of his head.

Cal sighed sadly. "Oh, Nibbles..." The curtains were already drawn, so he reached up and turned the little dial above the bed to dim down the ceiling lights, also switching off their bedside table lamps.

Trying his best to manage in the darkened room, Cal popped various tablets out of their packaging, glad he had decided to bring the extra-strong painkillers. "Up you get, Eth." He said.

At a snail's pace, Ethan slowly pushed himself up, his eyes half-shut as he placed all of his attention on trying not to throw up or faint, feeling Cal take his hand and place five pills into his palm. Ethan placed them in his mouth, one by one, and Cal handed him a bottle of water. As he wasn't the biggest fan of taking pills, Ethan quickly washed them down, taking little sips of water before beginning his descent back to that comfortable pillow, whimpering slightly as he felt a particularly strong wave of pain strike him.

"Okay, okay..." Cal said softly, helping him get comfortable and pulling him close. "Tell me where is hurts. Here?" He gently placed his cool fingertips on various areas of a Ethan's forehead, asking him to rate the pain. Ethan responded accordingly, keeping his voice down to a whisper as to speak any louder would surely make him sick. Cal nodded, picturing a map of the different pain points on Ethan's head, and began to very gently rub his temple.

Ethan let out a little sigh of relief as he felt some of the pain disappear already. Cal chuckled and continued.

"Brings back memories of the good old days, doesn't it..." He said quietly, continuing to lightly massage his forehead. Ethan tried to smile but burst into the beginnings of another coughing fit. Cal was quick to hand him his inhaler, just to be on the safe side, and offered him a tissue.

"Thanks..." Ethan whispered, taking a puff and attempting to blow his nose without causing such a surge of pain to sweep over him that he knocked himself out.

"Come here." Cal said, reaching forward and pinching the tissue around Ethan's nose and rubbing. Ethan grumbled, blushing in the darkness, but nonetheless allowed Caleb to blow his nose for him.

"Oh relax, Nibbles," He teased. "Believe me, I did much worse than a bit of nose-blowing when you were younger."

"There's no need to bring that up, Caleb." Ethan hushed him quickly, blushing even more.

Cal raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "Okay, grumpy, no need to get so defensive." He pulled him closer and played with his hair. "How do you feel? Is it going away at all?"

Ethan closed his eyes again and nodded, folding his arms against his chest and sighing softly. "I'm sorry to be such a pain..." He confessed, turning his face into Cal's shoulder.

"Oi," Cal poked his nose. "You're no trouble. Honest. I would still look after you, even if you were a facetious, complaining brat, because you're my little brother and I want you to be well. The time off is just a bonus." He added, smiling.

Ethan gave a small smile in return and nodded, still resting up against Cal's shoulder. "If you say so..."

* * *

"Here we go, this is much nicer, isn't it?" Cal said, tossing various cushions and blankets over to Ethan. "You get comfy and I'll make lunch."

Ethan lay down into the sofa, propped up on pillows and smothered in layers of thin blankets. Cal had decided that a bit of sunlight wouldn't hurt them, since Ethan's migraine had died down enough for him to become mobile again, so he had moved them into the living room. Depositing his grumpy little brother onto the sofa along with his favourite box set to keep him entertained allowed Cal to be somewhat productive and prepare them some food. He hadn't realised, fussing over Ethan, that neither of them had eaten, and, despite the fact that Ethan was probably nauseous and didn't want to eat, it was important that he got something down him so he wouldn't feel faint.

Rooting through the cupboards (which Ethan had spent hours meticulously organising), he tried to hunt down something edible amongst the countless tins of baked beans and boxes of herbal tea. Neither him nor Ethan liked the stuff, but he suspected Honey had offered him one of her "special blends" and Ethan had been too shy to say no. Smiling to himself, Cal finally emerged with a loaf and two packets of cheese and onion crisps, tossing a couple of slices of bread onto a plate and pouring Ethan a glass of milk (stopping to grab himself a beer whilst he was at it...) before returning to the living room.

"Grubs up, Nibbles." Cal strolled back into the living room, two plates in hand, and sat himself down at the end of the couch.

Ethan peeked out from the back cushion of the couch he had buried his face in and pushed his glasses up, smiling when he saw the contents of the plate.

"Thursday-night special." He said, coughing into the scrunched-up tissue in his hand.

"Yep." Cal said, popping the 'p' and handing Ethan his plate. "Was I the best babysitter in the world or what?"

"Just be glad mum never found out what you used to feed me..." Ethan said, taking the plate before he realised what he'd just said. "Oh, wait... Sorry, I didn't mean it like that..."

Cal smiled sadly at him and squeezed his shoulder. "It's fine. Now, come on, eat up." He said.

Ethan looked down at his plate, nose crinkling slightly as he placed it on the chair he'd put next to the sofa to balance the other various things he might need. "M'not hungry..."

"Please, Eth? You've got no meat on you already, you'll starve away at this rate..." Cal said, not wanting to push him but worried Ethan would worsen if he didn't have the energy to get better.

"Can I not just save it for later?" Ethan said, pulling as best a mock pouting face as he could.

"... That face was a lot more effective when you were younger, but fine." Cal said, smirking softly. Ethan smiled and snuggled back down into the couch. "Drink your milk, at least." He added, causing Ethan to grumble as he sat back up, taking a few short sips before placing it back down and relaxing into the cushions again.

"I'm tired but I feel too sick to sleep..." Ethan mumbled, sniffling and blowing his nose again, looking up at Cal piteously.

"Hold on, let me take your temperature..." Cal dumped his plate on the coffee table and grabbing the thermometer, gently placing it in Ethan's ear and clicking it, waiting for it to take a reading.

"... 38.2. That's not good..." He said darkly. "Okay, take some more fever reducers and finish your milk, that'll probably make you sleepy." Cal handed him a couple more pills and his milk again.

Ethan sniffled and swallowed them, forcing himself to get something in him by taking a longer drink of milk. He handed the glass back to Cal and smiled, settling back down. Cal was about to go back to watching the TV when he heard him pipe up once more.

"Cal?"

"Hm?" Cal turned to face Ethan.

"... Can I have a hug?" Ethan asked; embarrassed, but his blushing wasn't visible through his fever.

Cal smiled, chuckling at his brothers overly-affectionate behaviour and leaning down to give him a hug. "Someone's in a rather funny mood today..."

Ethan blushed, hugging him back and mumbling something about how he " _just wanted some comfort because he was sick_ ". Cal chuckled again, shaking his head fondly before giving him one last squeeze and sitting up, returning to the TV. Ethan yawned, rearranging his pillows and pulling his blanket over him as he started to doze off in his little area of the couch, a small smile on his face.

 **All Ethan ever seems to do is fall asleep at the end of every chapter! Lol, I'll find something more interesting for him to do next time. Spice things up a bit.**

 **Sorryyy for being so inactive, I'm trying my best to write and I have a couple of one shots on the go so they should be up soon, along with chapter four of this.**

 **On a sidenote, omg things are really kicking off! Who else loved that fight scene last episode? (30x22) I cannot wait for tomorrows episode, but I accidentally read some spoilers nooooo ;-; don't worry,** **nothing crazy lol.**

 **Thanks for reading! and thank you for all of the lovely reviews omg you guys are so sweet! I'll start posting them along with my responses next chapter :3**

 **Bye!**


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